House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

With more than three-quarters of homicides in Pennsylvania involving firearms, it is more important now than ever to ensure that the individuals responsible are found.  Far too often, all that is left for police to find is a victim and a bullet – untraceable, unidentifiable, and barely useable in finding the offender.  Bullets could be more than just ammunition, however.  Encoded ammunition, with specific numbers, could give our law enforcement officers a way to solve more of these despicable crimes. 

 

Our legislation would help our law enforcement officers track down these criminals by requiring ammunition manufacturers to encode ammunition provided for retail sale.  It would also require manufacturers to provide ammunition serial numbers to the state police, who would then keep a database on all encoded ammunition sold in the state.  Finally, a tax of five cents per round of ammunition would be imposed on all non-law enforcement ammunition sales, with some individuals able to file for a tax return credit of 0.5 percent of the gross amount paid. 

 

As legislators, we must do everything we can to protect our communities.  When gun violence threatens our constituents and their loved ones, there can be no more standing by.  Please join us in supporting this legislation and ensuring that we have the tools necessary to convict individuals who use their firearms for unlawful, dangerous purposes.